Darlings, it’s been a long week of non-stop baking here at Casa Twistie. Alas! That isn’t really helping for Recipe of the Week, since the only one that was a new recipe to me was more a case of me slightly altering an old standby…well, something I’d baked before. Mostly I adapted a cocoanut cake into a Pina Colada cake by replacing every instance of cocoanut extract with pineapple extract in a cake that uses cocoanut milk for some of the liquid and fat to begin with. That’s the key. If you start off with a cake that will still taste of cocoanut when you extract the cocoanut extract, replacing the extracted extract with pineapple will do the trick nicely. Oh, and I added a nice smattering of finely chopped candied pineapple for a fun surprise inside. I think I have several new friends based entirely on the hope that they can have more of that cake.
Anyway.
Since I was baking all these cakes (well, two layer cakes and a triple batch of cupcakes) for a milestone birthday party for a friend, I did a lot of old standbys for dinner this week, too. Roast chicken is a fave of mine, since I can then concentrate entirely on side dishes for a day or two after and then make chicken stock.
It’s fun sometimes, though, to spruce up a simple roast chicken with a fun sauce. I decided to give that a go this week, and to go Medieval in honor of our dear, departed Francesca, who loves a good Renaissance Faire as much as I do.
One of my favorite websites is Gode Cookery. It’s a great source for historical recipes from Ancient Rome up to the 17th century. There’s also a smattering of modern recipes that would work well with those more ancient concoctions, but those are clearly marked for those who wish to stay as authentic as possible.
Sauce Gingyuer, the one I chose, dates back to the 15th century, and is pitifully easy:
Take white brede, stepe it with vynegre, and draw it .ij. or .iij. tymes thurgh a straynour; and thanne put ther-to poudre gingere, and serue forthe.
Got that? No? Perhaps the modern translation complete with proportions will be helpful.
Ingredients
1 Cup wine vinegar (I used white, but red would work just fine, too)
1/2 Cup white breadcrumbs, very finely ground (I left them a little coarse because I like the texture, but don’t make them too big or they’ll just soak up the vinegar and leave you with bread lumps rather than sauce)
2 tsp powdered ginger, or to taste (Mr. Twistie and I are both huge ginger fans, so I was a tiny bit generous, keeping in mind that I didn’t want to completely overwhelm the subtle flavors of chicken with too aggressive a sauce)
In a bowl, combine vinegar, crumbs, and ginger. Stir well together and allow to sit for about an hour. Whisk sauce well before serving.
Yields one cup sauce. (I will double this next time, because Mr. Twistie pounced on it like a starving man and I had to fight to get some.)
Note (from website): Some sauces are easier to adapt than others. This is a great sauce and goes well with meat, fish or fowl. In Harlien MS 4016 this sauce is recommended for boiled gunard.
I don’t think they carry gunard at my local market. Hmmm….
Just a note for those who may not have worked with a recipe like this before; you can’t just take dried breadcrumbs from the cupboard. You need to make breadcrumbs from actual bread. The breadcrumbs you buy at the store are too dry for the texture of this sauce to come out right. For the smoothest texture, cut the crusts off some bread and then put that (dry) into a blender to turn it into crumbs.
And please, for the love of food, use white WINE vinegar, not white vinegar. White vinegar is only good for washing windows and should be removed from the food aisle entirely. (I know you did, but less experienced cooks can get confused and do strange things….strange, awful tasting things…)
Comment by Ru — March 13, 2010 @ 12:52 pm
I have a lovely, simple carrot cake in the oven as we speak. While I don’t do much baking once it gets warmish in these parts, I can see making this one several times over the summer. Particularly since I gave myself permission to use my Kitchenaid chopper to ‘shred’ my carrots.
Comment by Phyllis — March 13, 2010 @ 2:36 pm
Yep, just can’t find a good gunard when you want one. But we love ginger at our house; I use it on everything and supposedly it is good for you too.
Comment by Toby Wollin — March 13, 2010 @ 9:01 pm
a) Nerrrrrrd
b) I have a story about a saucy ginger, but it definitely doesn’t involve breadcrumbs
c) I can’t believe, what with the aforementioned nerderie, that you didn’t post a pie recipe for the weekend of 3.14
Comment by Plumcake — March 14, 2010 @ 4:43 am
@Ru: thanks for the excellent bits that were missing from my article. Sometimes I assume more than I ought.
@Phyllis: Mmmm… carrot cake. And yes, choppy things to shred carrots do make it go faster, which is not at all a bad thing.
@Toby Wollin: Of course ginger is good for you! At least it makes me happy, which I consider well in the ball park at the very least.
@Plummy: a) Yes. And?
b) Just one? I’m betting at least a dozen
c) But I didn’t bake a pie this week. Also, while I am a nerd, I am not a math nerd. OTOH, take a look at the article I just posted. I think even you will be satisfied.
Comment by Twistie — March 14, 2010 @ 12:53 pm